USPTO Invalidates Key Apple Multitouch Patent — For Now

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which tentatively invalidated Apple’s rubber-banding patent back in October, has taken a similarly dim view of another of the company’s marquee multitouch patents — one that Samsung was found to infringe. Earlier this week, the USPTO tentatively declared invalid U.S. Patent No. 7,479,949 — the so-called “Steve Jobs patent” — rejecting all 20 of its claims. The USPTO’s decision is not final; this is just a preliminary ruling. Still, it’s clearly unwelcome news for Apple.

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